Prey

Michael Crichton does it again with "Prey, " a terrifying page-turner that masterfully combines the elements of a heart-pounding thriller with cutting-edge technology. Deep in the Nevada desert, surrounded by nothing but cactus and coyotes, a swarm of molecules--self-replicating, fast-evolving, and very predatory--threatens life itself.

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles--micro-robots--has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive.

It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour.

Every attempt to destroy it has failed.

And we are the prey.

As fresh as today's headlines, Michael Crichton's most compelling novel yet tells the story of a mechanical plague and the desperate efforts of a handful of scientists to stop it. Drawing on up-to-the-minute scientific fact, "Prey" takes us into the emerging realms of nanotechnology and artificial distributed intelligence--in a story of breathtaking suspense. "Prey" is a novel you can't put down.

Because time is running out.